The on-going opening of the China market to foreign financial services firms has generated a lot of excitement. The latest is that Citigroup, HSBC and two other banks have launched local currency retail banking services on the mainland. This move has been anticipated for years. In some ways it is a momentous event. The banks are expected to focus on the growing ranks of the country's wealthy, who are more familiar with foreign-style banks. Not to be outdone, Bank of China, the country's second-biggest lender, launched a private banking service for millionaires only, in partnership with the Royal Bank of Scotland, which has a tiny stake in the Chinese bank. We'll see a lot more services launched soon. Hopefully, all this will pay off. But it will be quite a while.

For more:
- here's the AP article
- Kleiner Perkins to expand in China. Article